U.S. Presidential Election 2016 (Sponsored by Betty Croker's Hamburger Helper)

[Ben]

:lol:

[niko_cee]

I look forward to the calls for the impeachment of the chief justice of the supreme court.

[Disco]

Some serious testing of the judicial system going on this week, it'll be fun when this gets to the supreme court seeing as at least three are in Trumps pocket. You also have to wonder what happens when they go after some 2nd amendment type, they've been oddly quiet given how much they bang on about needing guns to oppose tyrannical governments. When they came for the Venezuelans I was quiet etc etc.

[Pepe]

Amy Coney Barrett is in no one's pocket.

[Bernanke]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/trump-ukraine-children-russia-war-kidnapping-evidence-b2717730.html


A Yale source said the US state department deleted the evidence which would have been used as part of rescue efforts to get the children home to Ukraine. It would also have been used to prosecute those behind their abductions – including Russian president Vladimir Putin.

”It is unclear whether it was by accident or intent"

"Whoops".

[niko_cee]

I hope they give out nobel peace prizes for bombing schools and hospitals otherwise someone is going to be very sore.

[Magic]

PuZin making Drump wait for an hour. :D

[Spikey M]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/trump-ukraine-children-russia-war-kidnapping-evidence-b2717730.html



"Whoops".

Butter fingers.

[Lofty]

It's all a bit Tucker Carlson with the bombastic rhetoric and acting the big dog, until you're sat in a room with Putin and realise he is a hardened killer, you could fall out of a window after your meeting and nothing would be done about it.

[niko_cee]

I reckon if Donald Trump 'fell out of a window' during or after a meeting with Putin something might be done about it.

[Lofty]

A Shane Warne hot shot of hard on medicine when he's back though?

[niko_cee]

Wait, Putin knocked Shane Warne off?

Maybe he's not so bad after all.

[Disco]

As if Putin kills Trump after all the trouble he went to to get him elected. Еще четыре года!

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Can someone digest all of the newly released JFK files and give me a tl:dr please.

[Spikey M]

It was the balloon.

You have one fucking job ffs.

[Shindig]

Can someone digest all of the newly released JFK files and give me a tl:dr please.

JFK killed himself.

[Disco]

Turns out Red Dwarf got it right.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

It was the balloon.

You have one fucking job ffs.
Of course, it can time travel.

How did I not realise that?

[Lofty]

Can someone digest all of the newly released JFK files and give me a tl:dr please.

Lee Harvey Oswald shot him with a chemically enhanced hard on.

[Magic]

Shillary killed him with Hunter Biden's laptop.

[Manc]

Fell in a river.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Murdered by the Secret Service after he put a microwave into his desk at the Oval Office to make poached eggs.

[Disco]

Now you're stretching credulity, the SS were far too drunk that day to kill anyone.

[niko_cee]

Fell in a river.

I believe the preferred terminology is 'entered the water'.

[Shindig]

They were very upset the chainsaw South African told them not to come in on Monday.

[phonics]

1902445414923817024

Failed state. Praise Xi.

[Pepe]

'Space researcher' lol.

[Jimmy Floyd]

The revelation in this 'controversial' book that Mark Zuckerberg asked Xi Jinping to name his unborn child, and that the premier said no thanks, is one of my favourite things ever about the current class of lizardmen.

[Bernanke]

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/trump-administration-accidentally-texted-me-its-war-plans/682151/?gift=xETZOumL2cLPJv65HO8YvF1_cVKFwTr7n0qctwoY3V8&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share


U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling.

https://cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/rySa44yfmkE7OFEgHayLiak2F78=/665x484/media/img/posts/2025/03/IMG_0328/original.jpg

https://cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/w6AXYEmE7rQSN42_PflDXUN1HG8=/665x979/media/img/posts/2025/03/IMG_0329/original.jpg

S M is Stephen Miller.

Fuck knows why the dude left the group chat. Is there like an anti Pulitzer prize?

[phonics]

Because (((Jeffrey Goldberg))) was included to report their extremely press release manufactured texts about how they’re being awesome and Europe owe them money for doing something against an issue that only exists because Israel cannot stop killing Palestinians.

[phonics]

Meanwhile, remember the guys who won the Oscar for their Israel Documentary?

One of them has just been murdered by Israeli settlers. Good people who we should be funding.

[Disco]

I love how stupid you have to be to discuss military ops on a public app and then also accidentally out all of that to a journalist.

[randomlegend]

DOGE losing the US government half a trillion of tax revenue :D

[Magic]

They did want people to pay less tax. Mission accomplished?

[John Arne]

Meanwhile, remember the guys who won the Oscar for their Israel Documentary?

One of them has just been murdered by Israeli settlers. Good people who we should be funding.

He was caught and handed over to Israeli military. They are still cunts, but didn't kill him (yet)...

[Magic]

Lol they're selling the govt gold for bitcoin.

[niko_cee]

Calling this journalist's bluff seems to have been a great strategy.

[niko_cee]

Another thing I've noticed in all this is that this Waltz character has one of those prototypical American faces. I've always thought of it previously as the dad from Home Alone face. It is impossible for someone to look like that and not be American and / or possibly a complete muppet.

[Disco]

Watch them justify it by saying there was nothing classified being discussed then prosecute the journalist for releasing classified information.

[Boydy]

1905332049021415862

A serious country doesn't do this shit.

[Jimmy Floyd]

The maddest part of all this (in my mind at least) is the fact that it's a huge departure from the ultra-earnest schmaltz that has characterised the first 240 years of American self-narrative. What would the people writing letters home in Ken Burns documentaries think about this? Are the founding fathers in the bin?

I might workshop a theory that the Confederacy has finally won by stealth.

[Disco]

They've taken all the shady bag over the head stuff and made it the norm right out in the open. RIP Pepe etc.

[phonics]

It does make me seem like a massive anti-semite but the whole 'The 1st Amendment is the most important thing in the world unless you criticise Israel' is so gross.

[Boydy]

1905033005464211514

Land of the free!

[Magic]

If I was a darker I'd be getting the fuck out of there ASAP. Or at least weaponing up.

[randomlegend]

I wonder if it might have been possible within the first few days of their government to predict this sort of thing happening. I guess we'll never know now.

[Disco]

If I'd voted for Trump I think I'd wonder when he was going to get around to his central campaign issues of Hannibal Lecter and Arnold Palmers dick.

[phonics]

I wonder if it might have been possible within the first few days of their government to predict this sort of thing happening. I guess we'll never know now.

Yeah Biden had a great record on this specific issue.

[Ben]

The world was getting progressively more democratic, on the whole, for decades but there's been a noticeable swing back to authoritarianism since about 2016. Pretty much every big power has rolled back rights in the last decade, accelerated by the COVID pandemic.

[Shindig]

This should not be a museum's problem. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdjy1jmvvwzo)

The African American Museum's completely up the spout, then.

[niko_cee]

DT's back from the golf course early this week I see.

[phonics]

1906900368367435922

"No ability to bring him back"

Jesus Christ these people are truly evil.

[Disco]

The air jordan logo is on their list of tattoos that mark you out as a gang member.

[Yevrah]

10% tariffs for us, 20% for the EU. I wait to see how James O'Brien spins this so as to continue his stance of no good things coming from Brexit. He's probably furiously masturbating into a mirror while working through tomorrow's opening monologue as I type.

[niko_cee]

Seems we've been rather fucked by the 10% floor.

Everyone else gets their reciprocal tariff at half rates, we get the full 10/10.

[Yevrah]

That'll be the angle then.

When you say 10/10, do we have tariffs on goods to the US already?

[Disco]

Pretty tenuous to claim this as any sort of vindication for Brexit but ok.

So Ameri-nerds, do you feel liberated yet?

[Yevrah]

Pretty tenuous to claim this as any sort of vindication for Brexit but ok.

Not what I said, but ok.

[Magic]

In fact this would be a great time to have much easier and better trade with our closest neighbours.

[niko_cee]

Probably, there are tariffs on everything. They've also been calculating 'non-tariff barriers' although seem to have fallen short of declaring VAT an import tax at least.

It is the same as Brexit to an extent in that everyone shits themselves over how important international trade is when it really isn't.

As long as it doesn't completely tank the global economy you can sort of see the sense of it. Maybe everything shouldn't be made in China. Maybe things becoming more expensive will have some unforeseen benefits, like the death of fast fashion etc. It'll probably go badly wrong though.

[Yevrah]

The thing that seems to be being focused on whenever I see any critique of the approach is that the consumer ends up paying the tariff as if that's some sort of gotcha. It isn't because Trump's been fairly clear that one of the aims of this is to encourage businesses to the US, which seems like pretty sound logic. Whether it will work or not is another story.

Oh and on the tariffs are on everything point, lol if he's only doing to other countries what they're already doing to the US.

[Magic]

Didn't they choose to outsource it to slave labour because capitalism...

[niko_cee]

Didn't they choose to outsource it to slave labour because capitalism...

Absolutely, and it's made them the richest country in the world / ever.

Which is a bit where the whole you're going to be rich again might fall down a bit. This won't help 'Ordinary Americans' in all likelihood.

[Yevrah]

Didn't they choose to outsource it to slave labour because capitalism...

Companies definitely did.

[Lewis]

I think it could work out reasonably well for America. They can produce pretty much everything they need, and they lots of cheap energy, so that should level it all out somewhere along the line. Everybody else no idea. Europe probably lol, us maybe not as lol.

[Magic]

Companies definitely did.

Based in...?

[niko_cee]

Isn't there a slight flaw in the immediate plan, highlighted by Trump himself, that all advanced microprocessors are made in Taiwan and they're now however much more expensive tomorrow. Yeah, you can make your own eventually, but you can't make them this year.

[Disco]

Surely if your tariffs are supposed to promote goods manufactured at home and they're making you loads of money then they aren't really working. Not that logic has ever bothered Trump, he's only in this so people can put money in his pocket in exchange for carve outs. He's already said he doesn't give a fuck if things get more expensive.

[Disco]

He has at least continued his obsession with holding up big dumb charts, what a fucking goober.

https://i.imgur.com/2FIvo4l.jpeg

[Bernanke]

I wanna see the details on what crazy shit Laos and Madagascar was getting up to that managed to get them into mid 90s of tariffs on US products.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I don't normally like to talk about these private matters, but the 34% additional tariff on China was a genuine instant boner. First thing I'll spend my extra commission on is a tee time at Trump Turnberry.

[Magic]

All joking aside I'll probably be made redundant again because tech kit is going to rocket in price. Oh well.

[Jimmy Floyd]

As for the Brexit angle, unfortunately for Remain fans this is exactly the sort of far-off development - completely unforeseeable in 2016, with Obama in the White House, woke on the rise and globalism in full swing - that made Leave the far superior long-term strategic choice than Remain. It doesn't mean that Farage gets to swing his shirt around his head and say I told you so - because he didn't tell you so - but it is still undeniably the case. Covid was another, war might be another. You have to be nimble. Short term inconvenience is not important and does not matter.

[phonics]

He has at least continued his obsession with holding up big dumb charts, what a fucking goober.

https://i.imgur.com/2FIvo4l.jpeg

1907559189234196942

This seems really smart as a country that devalued it's currently 20 years ago specifically to boost its export ability.

[phonics]

He has at least continued his obsession with holding up big dumb charts, what a fucking goober.

https://i.imgur.com/2FIvo4l.jpeg

1907559189234196942

This seems really smart as a country that devalued it's currentcy 20 years ago specifically to boost its export ability.

[Jimmy Floyd]

It's some of the thickest shit imaginable. As if the modern American youth is gagging for a 40 year stint in a re-opened steel mill.

[Pepe]

It isn't because Trump's been fairly clear that one of the aims of this is to encourage businesses to the US, which seems like pretty sound logic.


I think it could work out reasonably well for America. They can produce pretty much everything they need, and they lots of cheap energy, so that should level it all out somewhere along the line.

Problem is, even things made in the US are rarely made with 100% American inputs. You need to get materials, parts, etc. from other places and pay tariffs on them, so even stuff made in the US becomes more expensive. Also, even if it were to lead to people buying more things Made In The U S of A (as opposed to just buying less stuff), it means that people are paying more than they should for things. Good for the company making the items, bad for the (far more) consumers of the item. Plus, even if it benefits the workers of said company, even they have to pay more for everything else. Yet another system were a few people win while the vast majority lose.

[Disco]

The full list is great. Bits of France get different tariffs despite being in the EU, they've tariffed a volcano, and an island full of penguins.

[John Arne]

Aye, they've also tariffed Heard & McDonald Islands off the coat of Australia with a population of... zero.

[Disco]

Damn coastal elites.

[Giggles]

Unfortunately we appear to have got off lighter than expected with the pharma exemption.

[Ben]

Fuck looking at numbers at this time of morning to see if it's viable, but won't this give us leverage to become the EU's export hub?

[Lofty]

The Isle of Shite :drool:

The main question is how will this affect my Costco shop?

[Boydy]

1907701052268314765

[niko_cee]

One thing I noticed during the freewheeling was that he called the Nvidia Nuh-vidia, I've always said En-vidia, although in fairness I also always wanted to say Bruno En-gotty, which I know is wrong.

[Pepe]

Isn't there a slight flaw in the immediate plan, highlighted by Trump himself, that all advanced microprocessors are made in Taiwan and they're now however much more expensive tomorrow. Yeah, you can make your own eventually, but you can't make them this year.

Taiwanese semiconductors are exempt. Makes this a very slightly less massive shit show.

[Disco]

He also says 'groceries' like it's a word he discovered yesterday so I wouldn't worry too much.

[Pepe]

1907587352157106292

Bow to your AI overlords.

[niko_cee]

Taiwanese semiconductors are exempt. Makes this a very slightly less massive shit show.

Ah, I see. Much like most of Ireland's €50bn trade deficit with them. I mean, what the fuck? Germany, industrial powerhouse of Europe, maker of things, 83m hard working drones, only manages a £90bn deficit. What the fuck are 5 million people on a rock in Atlantic 'exporting' [other than tax avoidance]?

[Boydy]

Ah, I see. Much like most of Ireland's €50bn trade deficit with them. I mean, what the fuck? Germany, industrial powerhouse of Europe, maker of things, 83m hard working drones, only manages a £90bn deficit. What the fuck are 5 million people on a rock in Atlantic 'exporting' [other than tax avoidance]?

Viagra.

[Giggles]

Ah, I see. Much like most of Ireland's €50bn trade deficit with them. I mean, what the fuck? Germany, industrial powerhouse of Europe, maker of things, 83m hard working drones, only manages a £90bn deficit. What the fuck are 5 million people on a rock in Atlantic 'exporting' [other than tax avoidance]?

What do you mean other than tax avoidance? It's all tax avoidance.

[niko_cee]

Yeah, but it's hard to imagine how tax avoidance can be classed as a 'good'.

Do they actually make the drugs there or do they just licence the IP / shelter the profits as per all of the other big US companies making theirs a triple?

[niko_cee]

I see 'the markets' are taking this well.

I was reading earlier how the likes of Nike etc are essentially uninvestable in now due to their reliance on far eastern manufacturing.

What happens when the foreign made stuff is still cheaper with the tariffs than making it in the US would be? More tariffs?

[Disco]

It'll be classed as Consultancy Services or something nebulous like that.

[Giggles]

Yeah, but it's hard to imagine how tax avoidance can be classed as a 'good'.

Do they actually make the drugs there or do they just licence the IP / shelter the profits as per all of the other big US companies making theirs a triple?

Manufactured here. The place is covered in pharmaceutical manufacturing plants.

[Yevrah]

Massive drops on Wall Street. Will be interesting to see if this continues whether there's a mechanism for those in the background pulling the strings to get rid of him sharpish, ala Truss over here.

I suspect there isn't.

[Ben]

Imagine if there is though. :drool:

[Disco]

It's a cult at this point, the whole point of surrounding himself with idiots and sycophants off the telly was so he could do whatever he wanted without being gainsaid by anyone with a brain which happened occasionally the first time around.

[Pepe]

The mechanism is Republicans in Congress. Rand Paul, Mitch McConnell and some other Republican I can't remember already came up with a bill to stop the Canada tariffs, but I doubt that there are many others with balls.

As for the markets, they haven't crashed enough, if anything.

[Bam]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/03/donald-trump-tariffs-antarctica-uninhabited-heard-mcdonald-islands

:roflol:

[Magic]

Trump trying to force us to buy chlorinated chicken for tariff relief.

[niko_cee]

Isn't the whole chlorinated chicken an actual non-tariff barrier to trade largely invented to prevent US chicken being sold in the EU?

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure their mass produced meat is terrible, but is it worse than Dutch chicken pumped full of water or Danish pigs?

[Pepe]

I've seen what some of you eat in the food thread. You'll survive eating Tyson chicken just fine. That's what my cats eat and they are going strong.

[Lewis]

Problem is, even things made in the US are rarely made with 100% American inputs. You need to get materials, parts, etc. from other places and pay tariffs on them, so even stuff made in the US becomes more expensive. Also, even if it were to lead to people buying more things Made In The U S of A (as opposed to just buying less stuff), it means that people are paying more than they should for things. Good for the company making the items, bad for the (far more) consumers of the item. Plus, even if it benefits the workers of said company, even they have to pay more for everything else. Yet another system were a few people win while the vast majority lose.

Yeah, it's not good for anybody (at least not applied like this), but once the dust settles it will be better for them than most.

[Pepe]

Maybe, but I'm not sure that 'everyone will go to shit but we will go to shit a bit less' is a great plan. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[Lewis]

I think the most questionable longer-term part is wrecking the economies of the countries near to China, Vietnam etc., that seems like a certain way to force them into throwing their lot in with Team Panda and wrecking their entire Pacific strategy.

[Pepe]

I guess it might make everyone else decide that tariffs are stupid and drop all of theirs, just to screw the US if anything.

[Yevrah]

This is without doubt the most insane thing he's done since returning. The more I read about it the closer it looks to the old 1,2,3 meme as you're ever likely to see.

[Yevrah]

Unless those delicious Ukranian rare Earth minerals provide the US with almost all of the shit they need to build stuff that is.

[randomlegend]

It's a cult at this point

"At this point".

[Boydy]

1907873192053772502

:lol:

[Shindig]

What a ridiculous set of lazy cunts.

[Ben]

The world is fucked isn't it. :facepalm:

Spikey was right.

[Spikey M]

:cool:

Vote for me in 2029 (or whenev's).

[niko_cee]

1907873192053772502

:lol:

I like this as a theory, but Guernsey and Jersey seem to have swerved being singled out and they have .gg and .je domain names so I'm not sure. Are they not 'top level '?

[Magic]

No, a penguin inhabited island trumps your backwater floating trash heap.

[Ben]

Trump says his tariffs rollout is going "very well" and the economy is going to "boom", after US markets closed on Thursday with the biggest one-day loss since the pandemic hit in 2020

You've got to admire the grift. :D

[Magic]

One of my UK customers designs stuff, gets it manufactured in China, gets it shipped back here and then distributes it to the US.

54% tariff. :harold:

Best bit is they cover the original tariff for their customers to make things easier...not anymore.

[Bernanke]

34% reciprocal reciprocal tariffs from China. :lol:

[Magic]

What does China buy from America?

[Ben]

Soybeans.

[Spikey M]

One of my UK customers designs stuff, gets it manufactured in China, gets it shipped back here and then distributes it to the US.

54% tariff. :harold:

Best bit is they cover the original tariff for their customers to make things easier...not anymore.

Presumably everyone just starts doing things via the black market soon. Tariff that, you giant orange fringe.

[Bernanke]

What does China buy from America?


Soybeans.

https://tradingeconomics.com/china/imports/united-states

Industrial equipment and agriculture products largely it seems.

[Magic]

Presumably everyone just starts doing things via the black market soon. Tariff that, you giant orange fringe.

They're looking at loopholes i.e if they stick a BRITISH STICKER on it it's not technically been 100% manufactured in China...absolutely insane.

[Magic]

https://tradingeconomics.com/china/imports/united-states

Industrial equipment and agriculture products largely it seems.

Really thought they'd have ripped that off by now...hmm.

[Bernanke]

Oil is absolutely cratering. OPEC increasing production will kill the US oil industry as well. Looking good for the Americans for sure. :rasta:

[Ben]

They're looking at loopholes i.e if they stick a BRITISH STICKER on it it's not technically been 100% manufactured in China...absolutely insane.

It's just what Russia have been doing for 3+ years.

[Lofty]

1907904269673787663

[AyDee]

The economic impact of these tariffs really is pretty massive. Even for the US, which will probably now creep into stagflation territory which could involve falling interest rates (5 more quarter point drops now factored in this year, was only 3 pre-tariffs), slowing growth (possible recession), and pretty high inflation.

Although tbf, gonna be reciprocal recessions for everyone!

[Disco]

Oil is absolutely cratering. OPEC increasing production will kill the US oil industry as well. Looking good for the Americans for sure. :rasta:

Also an indication that the market expects less economic activity.

[Ben]

Boeing look to benefit massively from this.

https://www.mdpi.com/sustainability/sustainability-15-16206/article_deploy/html/images/sustainability-15-16206-g001-550.jpg

[Disco]

That's an in flight image I think.

[Ben]

:lol:

[Ben]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgerl183j3o

:uhoh:

[Spikey M]

That's an in flight image I think.

:D

[Magic]

Boeing look to benefit massively from this.

https://www.mdpi.com/sustainability/sustainability-15-16206/article_deploy/html/images/sustainability-15-16206-g001-550.jpg

And Tesler.

[Boydy]

That's an in flight image I think.
:lol:

Very good.

[Boydy]

https://i.ibb.co/GfNQCgf6/with-the-situation-in-venezuela-right-now-where-are-they-v0-skyjfv8poggd1.png

[phonics]

Nintendo have delayed the release of the Switch 2 in the US indefinitely until the tariff stuff gets sorted out haha

[Bernanke]

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:7upoypvlxudsiv4pzbi5jtwf/bafkreiftbvvarfnvgbc32ox3gtklu4rw2vzta4xt6ykekjcvy 7pzpygovi@jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/kVFDKPi.png

[Boydy]

1909265179159785559

He's doubling down.

[Yevrah]

Either this is a masterstroke and literally everyone else is wrong or we're completely in the hands of capitalism doing its thing now.

[Boydy]

What does "capitalism doing its thing" mean?

[Pepe]

Tariffs are anti-capitalism, if anything. Most pro- capitalism people are into open markets.

[Yevrah]

What does "capitalism doing its thing" mean?

Means Trump goes the same way Truss did.

[Yevrah]

Tariffs are anti-capitalism, if anything. Most pro- capitalism people are into open markets.

Indeed and they won't be liking this shit, not one bit.

[Magic]

Indeed and they won't be liking this shit, not one bit.

Warren Buffet is. And also if it's that bad why aren't they complaining? The elites know they can weather this and buy up everything when it all collapses. Wealth. Transfer.

[Boydy]

Means Trump goes the same way Truss did.

How though? There's not really a similar mechanism to get rid of a president like there is with a PM.

[Yevrah]

Warren Buffet is. And also if it's that bad why aren't they complaining? The elites know they can weather this and buy up everything when it all collapses. Wealth. Transfer.

There's a reason shares in these companies are worth what they are, the trousering of cheap foreign labour and materials. Take that out of the equation forever and there's no wealth to transfer.

And they are starting to complain, one of Trump's billionaire backers has done just that today.

[Yevrah]

How though? There's not really a similar mechanism to get rid of a president like there is with a PM.

Now that I do not know, but there must be something, surely?

[Giggles]

Hiring someone that won't miss would be a start.

[Pepe]

What is the mechanism to get rid of a PM?

Congress could get rid of him, but that would require enough Republicans to grow some balls.

The only 'wealth transfer' caused by tariffs is from people to the state. They basically end up being a sales tax.

[Spikey M]

No confidence vote.

[Pepe]

Ah yes. There is nothing that direct, but could be done.

[Disco]

Any legal methods need the republican house or members of the government to cooperate and they're now all grovelling sychophants, drunk tv hosts or conspiracy theory podcasters.

[Ben]

Is he really pouting about China retaliating with tariffs of their own?

[niko_cee]

I would say someone should tell Trump to stop triumphantly staying that everything is down but it wouldn't make any difference.

[Disco]

He's going to get his military parade this time around, I can't wait.

[Lofty]

Re the China tariffs, reminds me of Mark Corrigan bargaining to get his Blackberry back: 'obviously, this dynamic could continue indefinitely'

[Magic]

Everyone is calling him apparently to kiss his ass.

Another red day ahead.

[Spikey M]

US Bonds being sold off at record rates. China (the biggest holder of US Bonds) has the opportunity to to the funniest thing ever.

https://www.investing.com/news/economy-news/is-china-dumping-us-treasuries-3975344

Dump them, my g Xi.

[Ben]

Dump them, my g Xi.

:cool:

[SvN]

Re the China tariffs, reminds me of Mark Corrigan bargaining to get his Blackberry back: 'obviously, this dynamic could continue indefinitely'

It will only end with Xi asking Trump to lower the tarrifs in a lady's voice.

[niko_cee]

There's obviously a long list of stupid actions and outcomes in all this but where we are now, where the countries most 'disadvantaged' are the countries with no trade imbalance or even negative trade balances seems particularly contrary to the idea the idea of these things is to address those imbalances. All part of the plan. Scott Bessant also had another particularly stupid American face.

[Magic]

He did confirm the bonds spooked Drump.

[niko_cee]

This was the President's plan all along.

President says he's flexible and changed course.

:face:

That blonde harridan Leavitt must be one of the worst people alive.

[niko_cee]

Trump tariffs penguins, penguin crashes helicopter in South Africa, helicopter crashes in New York. :sherlock:

[Boydy]

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-officials-growing-tired-of-unfunny-and-irritating-musk

Lol, everyone hates Elon. Who'd have thought?

[Magic]

Imagine how bad you have to be to stand out in a cunt soup.

[Disco]

Supreme Court have now ordered the return of the MS13 hairdresser in chief. Trump admin are apparently not content with destroying confidence in their treasury bonds but are having a proper go at further fucking over their own rule of law by refusing to comply. This really is a speedrun of turbo-fucking your own country back to the tinpot status it had before WW2.

[randomlegend]

This shipping people off to El Salvador is actual Nazi stuff.

sToP bEiNg So DrAmAtIc

That guy the Supreme Court are telling them to bring back is 100% dead.

[Disco]

I was wrong, it's not the hairdresser it's the guy with a Jordan tattoo (Michael not Eddie) that they admitted was wrongly scooped up. And they still won't bring him back, very close to being able to disappear anyone they want as long as they get them out of the country.

[Magic]

Wasn't he an enemy of El Salvador as well? He's 100% dead.

[Yevrah]

It’s not Nazi stuff and “disappearing people” means actually killing them at your own hand, so why are we using that phraseology too?

There are a million things one can get Trump on, making shit up only plays into his hands.

[Pepe]

Might not be 'Nazi stuff' but it is pretty fucked up, especially the ignoring the Supreme Court part.

[Disco]

Disappearing people (which it absolutely is) is not just a fascism thing, it's a totalitarian thing. Trump says he's powerless to get them back and the president of the country they've been imprisoned in says he can't do anything about it, these are obvious lies but it's telling that they don;t feel the need to disguise it.

[Magic]

It’s not Nazi stuff and “disappearing people” means actually killing them at your own hand, so why are we using that phraseology too?

There are a million things one can get Trump on, making shit up only plays into his hands.

It's easy when it's not white people, basically.

[phonics]

It’s not Nazi stuff and “disappearing people” means actually killing them at your own hand, so why are we using that phraseology too?

There are a million things one can get Trump on, making shit up only plays into his hands.

Fucking lol. Absolute cuck. Just say you agree with what he stands for.

[randomlegend]

It’s not Nazi stuff and “disappearing people” means actually killing them at your own hand, so why are we using that phraseology too?

There are a million things one can get Trump on, making shit up only plays into his hands.

Braindead.

[Lewis]

They would be better off getting him back and then just deporting him for having entered the country illegally. Why let it run like this?

[Pepe]

That would be the smart move. Bring him back, claim his asylum case is bogus, deport. Maybe they really lost him.

[Yevrah]

Fucking lol. Absolute cuck. Just say you agree with what he stands for.


Braindead.

Serious question. Why are the comparisons to Nazi Germany (one of the worst regimes in all of human history let’s not forget) needed? What’s wrong with saying what he’s doing in this instance is appalling, or even evil? Do you feel dropping the N bomb gives your quite correct point of view credence? Or that you’ll convert people to your way of thinking if you do it?

[Spoonsky]

Might have something to do with his top dog dropping a Nazi salute at his inauguration but idk. Maybe that was just an appalling, evil salute too.

[Spoonsky]

(My serious answer would be: unlike a lot of totalitarian regimes who came to power by force, the Nazis were actually democratically elected and then proceeded to tear apart the entire system from the inside, and very quickly and efficiently too. There’s an understandable fear about his administration making similar moves, undermining the rule of law, etc. which these deportation cases exemplify. It’s not just because of how “evil” it is but the specifics of what’s being done.)

[Pepe]

Where do you live now?

[phonics]

Serious question. Why are the comparisons to Nazi Germany (one of the worst regimes in all of human history let’s not forget) needed? What’s wrong with saying what he’s doing in this instance is appalling, or even evil? Do you feel dropping the N bomb gives your quite correct point of view credence? Or that you’ll convert people to your way of thinking if you do it?
Serious question, why does 90% of what you express annoyance at is along the lines of the inelegance of the language used by those in opposition to the really hanus, evil shit that’s going on rather than said hanus evil shit.

[Spoonsky]

Where do you live now?

The 51st state. :cool:

[Pepe]

Still? Nice. Working or still in school?

[Pepe]

How's Luca?

[Spoonsky]

Finished masters, now working as a roving research assistant and editor like the nerd I am. Also waiting for a permanent residency application to be processed.

I lost track, are you in France or Pennsylvania now?

[Pepe]

Ohio :harold:

[Spoonsky]

:D

Anyone who likes capitalism as much as you should be forced to live in Ohio.

Luca's still living the good life in Toronto. Less sure about Panda Bear but I would presume he's also living the good life in an anarchist squat in Vancouver.

[Magic]

Serious question. Why are the comparisons to Nazi Germany (one of the worst regimes in all of human history let’s not forget) needed? What’s wrong with saying what he’s doing in this instance is appalling, or even evil? Do you feel dropping the N bomb gives your quite correct point of view credence? Or that you’ll convert people to your way of thinking if you do it?

Lol Nazi salutes etc but also it didn't start by killing 6 million of my relatives.

[randomlegend]

Why are the comparisons to Nazi Germany (one of the worst regimes in all of human history let’s not forget) needed?

Because that is what it is.

[Pepe]

Waiting for my citizenship and then to France. At least that's the plan.

Donald, if you are reading this: I love you and everything your stand for.

[Yevrah]

Serious question, why does 90% of what you express annoyance at is along the lines of the inelegance of the language used by those in opposition to the really hanus, evil shit that’s going on rather than said hanus evil shit.

You could try answering my question.

As for yours, I don’t often have anything to add to the matter so I don’t bother. Most of which stems from just not caring that much about the US, bar the actual elections, which are always worth a watch.

[Yevrah]

Lol Nazi salutes etc but also it didn't start by killing 6 million of my relatives.

I don’t even know what that means.

[Disco]

The Nazi comparisons were a bit hyperbolic until Bannon et al started doing straight arm salutes (not to mention all the soft references from Trump and others), you can call them 'roman' if you like but it makes you look like a fucking idiot. The comparison goes a lot deeper than that and has nothing to do with ideology, if you know much German history of the 20s/30s then Musk is almost an exact copy of Alfred Hugenberg, and his facilitation of the Nazis journey into government bears a really creepy amount of resemblance to Trump getting in the second time. Add in the similarity between Hugenberg/Krupp and how the american right uses the media and the comparison is undeniable.

If I was being unkind I might suggest that the comparison only seems overblown if you have no idea what you're talking about or your understanding of the Nazis boils down to Ooh weren't that Hindenburg a bit old.

Obligatory picture of Big Pauls dick on a coin

https://i.imgur.com/Zut5MX3.jpeg

[Lewis]

Equally, most people think fascism is a funny man spouting off and the Holocaust, when the defining feature across its various schools is all of the national institutions running alongside the government as part of the 'total state'. We will have to see how that one pans out, but his first administration was characterised by a complete inability to get any of them on side (Supreme Court aside, because he was actually able to press easy buttons to do so), and the fact that his new administration is having running battles across the board suggests it won't be so easy this time round either. You will know the 'total state' has arrived when you see things like sports leagues pushing the same social causes, and the entire media conspires to cover up Trump having dementia when people can clearly see otherwise.

[Disco]

I don't think Trump has any real ideology or goal beyond give me some money and I don't want to go to prison, it's what makes it so hard to discern whether their actions are part of a plan to destroy representative democracy or the flailing of a bunch of idiots making it up as they go along. Trump just did/said things that he knew would energise his base, the racism was easy because he himself is a racist but he tied himself in knots with stuff like abortion because he personally doesn't give a shit and just tried to pander to whoever was stood in front of him at that moment. The rest was either ignored by right wing media or simply glossed over like tariff stuff while they hooted about inflation etc. First term it didn't matter because his rambling insanity was quickly forgotten or they got Ivanka in to flash her legs and get him a hamburger, this time you have ghouls like Steven Miller obsessed with replacement theory and a republican party so compromised that they happily confirmed as many podcasters, drunken tv hosts, and sweet zombie Lindas as he wanted. What they've ended up with is a rotting corpse at the top and a mixture of frothing mentals and complete incompetents who can;t really get anything done beyond sacking people and either getting sued out the wazoo or having to hire them back anyway. None of his legislative ideas are going to get anywhere because his majority is too slim and most of them are electoral suicide so sweeping browns off the street and seeing how far they can get with ignoring the courts about it is all they've got. Even then that's partly a sop to Trump because the man is so incapable of making a friend that he can't take criticism or even slightly admit failure so going after dissenters is a pretty central pillar of his administration and he's been sold the idea that disappearing people who are mean to him starts with doing it to the ethnics.

[Shindig]

Murdering the GPU market (More than it already is) is a bold move for a government with a crypto reserve and big hopes about AI.

[Jimmy Floyd]

He's absolutely not a fascist or a Nazi, those are both very specific things. He is just Trump, he can be absolutely terrible without having to be the same as those things.

[Kikó]

He might not be a nazi (he's a fascist) but he's surrounded by people who are.

[randomlegend]

I don't know what the obsession is with "Well ackshually"ing whether he is or isn't technically a Nazi.

The point is they are doing Nazi-level heinous shit, like grabbing people they don't like off the street and exiling them without due process to hell-hole prisons/death camps in El Salvador. Then refusing to bring them back despite being ordered to buy the Supreme Court.

Whether he technically fits the definition of a Nazi is a childish distraction.

[Yevrah]

So Nazi to you just means anyone doing very bad things?

[Yevrah]

And I would actually say labelling him a Nazi is the real childish distraction as it’s such an easy thing for him and his brethren to bat away from his following and he keeps winning, so it clearly isn’t doing any good.

[Magic]

The "not a Nazi because..." and start to quote extremely specific things brigade are the worst.

[Magic]

And I would actually say labelling him a Nazi is the real childish distraction as it’s such an easy thing for him and his brethren to bat away from his following and he keeps winning, so it clearly isn’t doing any good.

I don't see any batting away lol.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Why always Nazi? Why not Salazar's Portugal, Suharto's Indonesia, or any of the other myriad states across the last 100 years that have done similar bad things?

The answer is because Nazis are famous and glamorous, which Trump also is, so all you're doing is playing into his hands.

[Magic]

Why always Nazi? Why not Salazar's Portugal, Suharto's Indonesia, or any of the other myriad states across the last 100 years that have done similar bad things?

The answer is because Nazis are famous and glamorous, which Trump also is, so all you're doing is playing into his hands.

I think it was the salutes m8

EDIT: Why are you trying to be clever about this?

[phonics]

Yeah I'm playing into his hands. The language I use is whats turning 12 thousand voters in the Wisconsin Dells. Fucking nonsense.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I think it's the most lazy possible criticism of Trump and also historically illiterate, both of which are bad things and among the reasons shit tons of people vote for him.

[Magic]

I think it's the most lazy possible criticism of Trump and also historically illiterate, both of which are bad things and among the reasons shit tons of people vote for him.

Disagree. Just keep it simple and call it out for what it is. There's no nuance here. We can debate whether he's more historically aligned with Salazar or Suharto whilst he marches off home grown journalists and protesters to El Salvador death camps.

[Yevrah]

I don't see any batting away lol.

Two election victories would suggest otherwise. Including demographics of voters that absolutely wouldn’t be voting for him were he an actual Nazi.

[Magic]

Two election victories would suggest otherwise. Including demographics of voters that absolutely wouldn’t be voting for him were he an actual Nazi.

That isn't batting away.

And who is that, then? You mean some blacks and Hispanics?

[Yevrah]

I mean anyone who isn’t a Nazi sympathiser. But if you want to be specific, yes, why would black people vote for an actual Nazi?

[Boydy]

Two election victories would suggest otherwise. Including demographics of voters that absolutely wouldn’t be voting for him were he an actual Nazi.

Do you think people who voted for the actual Nazis knew everything that was going to come after? Do you think they voted for the Holocaust?

[randomlegend]

Two election victories would suggest otherwise. Including demographics of voters that absolutely wouldn’t be voting for him were he an actual Nazi.

Plenty of demographics voted for him despite him making it clear he planned to fuck them.

[Spikey M]

Do you think people who voted for the actual Nazis knew everything that was going to come after? Do you think they voted for the Holocaust?

They did if they read his book.

[Magic]

Do you think people who voted for the actual Nazis knew everything that was going to come after? Do you think they voted for the Holocaust?

I think Hitler seized power. These dumb yank cunts have given him it lol.

[Spikey M]

Hitler had power given to him. Albeit by Hindenburg, rather than the electorate.

[Yevrah]

Do you think people who voted for the actual Nazis knew everything that was going to come after? Do you think they voted for the Holocaust?

No and no, but do people genuinely think Trump is going to do something on the scale of the Holocaust?

We know everything the Nazi’s did, why are we calling trump one on the basis of what he might do?

[Yevrah]

Plenty of demographics voted for him despite him making it clear he planned to fuck them.

Which sort of leads us to the two main arguments against him being people are stupid and he’s a Nazi. Which are both clearly useless as he keeps winning.

[Magic]

No and no, but do people genuinely think Trump is going to do something on the scale of the Holocaust?

We know everything the Nazi’s did, why are we calling trump one on the basis of what he might do?

You actually sound like a domestic abuse victim.

[Yevrah]

You actually sound like a domestic abuse victim.

And you sound like a whiny lefty loser that sticks to the same tried and tested lines of failure that keep Trump in the Whitehouse.

It’s genuinely tragic. One would have thought some form of assessment would have occurred last time and tangibly different actions taken to ensure he never won an election again, but no, people are just doubling down on that failure.

It’s the lack of pragmatism that sickens me and similar shit is happening here. Is it match fixing? Do the left want these arseholes in power?

[Magic]

Are you insane? It's that exact weak-minded bullshit 'pragmatism' people pleasing crap that sees him in power again rather than in fucking jail where he belongs.

Just come out with it. You agree with him. We all know it.

[Yevrah]

Just come out with it. You agree with him. We all know it.

Your head can’t rationalise any other point of view on the subject other than if it’s pointed toward the person holding said point of view agreeing with Trump on everything he says and does.

I guess safety in numbers must be of some comfort (with the millions of others like you) as it’s really not a good place to be.

[Spikey M]

I appreciate the effort Yev, but I fear it's being wasted.

[randomlegend]

And you sound like a whiny lefty loser that sticks to the same tried and tested lines of failure that keep Trump in the Whitehouse.

It’s genuinely tragic. One would have thought some form of assessment would have occurred last time and tangibly different actions taken to ensure he never won an election again, but no, people are just doubling down on that failure.

It’s the lack of pragmatism that sickens me and similar shit is happening here. Is it match fixing? Do the left want these arseholes in power?

Yeah imagine "whining" about them kidnapping people and sending them to hell/death camps. Can you hear yourself?

The reason Trump is in power again is precisely because he's pulled the wool over the eyes of absolute dribbling idiots like you enough that you can't see/don't care how dangerous and abhorrent he is. Apathetic morons who didn't vote is what allowed him back in.

A few weeks ago you were droning on about how he won't actually do anything bad. Now he's doing incredibly bad shit, and it's "yeah but it's not as bad as the holocaust".

[Giggles]

I appreciate the effort Yev, but I fear it's being wasted.

They might as well be a few Man Utd and Liverpool fans arguing at a bar. One extreme or the other but never give any semblance of leeway towards the other side.

[randomlegend]

No leeway is warranted.

[Giggles]

No leeway is warranted.

Of course there is when you're being as dramatic as you're being.

[Lewis]

They should have just sent him to Guantanamo Bay and we could have filed it under Decency/Grown-Up Government.

[randomlegend]

I mean we all know you're deeply racist so it's hardly surprising you're unbothered whilst it's happening to brown people.

[Lewis]

Plus I don't live in America.

[randomlegend]

Plus I don't live in America.

Was at giggles.

[Magic]

Bat it away.

[Yevrah]

Yeah imagine "whining" about them kidnapping people and sending them to hell/death camps. Can you hear yourself?

The reason Trump is in power again is precisely because he's pulled the wool over the eyes of absolute dribbling idiots like you enough that you can't see/don't care how dangerous and abhorrent he is. Apathetic morons who didn't vote is what allowed him back in.

A few weeks ago you were droning on about how he won't actually do anything bad. Now he's doing incredibly bad shit, and it's "yeah but it's not as bad as the holocaust".

This is Magic shit 2.0. You’re an hysterical mess and playing into exactly what keeps Trump winning.

That you think he’s pulled the wool over my eyes because I don’t agree entirely with your take (despite consistently agreeing he is far from a force for good) shows you don’t even know who you should be appealing to to stop him winning, let alone what actually makes those people tick.

[Yevrah]

And to put it even clearer, your (and many others) approach is:

People are idiots
He’s conned them
He’s a Nazi

It.does.not.work. People have heard the same lines for a decade now and they don’t care (in anywhere near enough numbers). It.does.not.work.

Your best hope is that whatever follows Trump is incompeteence of a level that makes them unprecedentedly bad. And that’s absolutely pathetic.

Get a grip and sort it out.

[Shindig]

The state seemingly controlled a lot more under Nazism. Trump's got a lesser grip on power. I suspect he doesn't really want that and prefers to just get by on cult of personality. I'm not sure there's a con on because, for a world leader, he's incredibly indecisive. Didn't he chop and change his staff every few weeks in his first stint?

All his gameplan has been, "I want to look like I'm doing stuff." Antithetical to the slow nature of politics but the MAGA crowd will eat it up. And then he'll die.

[Yevrah]

He’s been utterly clueless since day 1 nine years ago. Lurching from one recent idea to the next, seemingly based on whomever he last spoke to.

[Disco]

They've already had some pushback from the crazies, you;ve got the mong they put in charge of the FBI trying to placate people by saying they really are doing stuff because they didn't arrest Oprah Winfrey and Hillary Clinton on day one. They did the Epstein folders for some internet wankers that had noting in them etc. Of the groups who supported him this time there's the mentals who he simply lied to and is now fobbing off (with the exception of the deportations which tells you everything), the tech wankers who didn;t believe he would do the things he said he would, and the finance idiots who thought they were getting a tax cut but got financial armageddon instead. Quite funny really.

[randomlegend]

That you think he’s pulled the wool over my eyes because I don’t agree entirely with your take (despite consistently agreeing he is far from a force for good) shows you don’t even know who you should be appealing to to stop him winning, let alone what actually makes those people tick.

He has pulled the wool over your eyes.

[Magic]

We should placate and be nice to the wee Nazis, see if that works xxx

[Yevrah]

In what way? What do you think I think?

Let’s get it all out.

@ RL.

[Magic]

You tell me mate. You're the one that's saying IT. DOES. NOT. WORK.

[randomlegend]

In what way? What do you think I think?

Let’s get it all out.

@ RL.

I think you think what you've said you think in your posts. What do you want me to do, quote them back at you?

[Yevrah]

You tell me mate. You're the one that's saying IT. DOES. NOT. WORK.

You’re incapable of answering simple questions.

And I’m not saying it does not work out of thin air, your approach keeps fucking losing elections, to someone that should never be winning them. Maybe contemplate that?

[Magic]

So instead of calling out bad things, we should do what, exactly?

[Ben]

Close this thread ffs.